The aerospace company, owned by entrepreneur Jeff Bezos, had to postpone the eagerly awaited liftoff of its New Glenn rocket on Sunday because of adverse meteorological conditions at the Florida launch site.
Mission Postponement Causes
Precipitation and a technical problem on the ground caused initial delays, followed by cumulus cloud cover as the 88-minute launch window closed, leaving mission controllers to reschedule the rocket’s planned second mission.
Rivalry between Bezos' firm and Musk's space company has been intensifying in the past few months.
Rescheduled Attempt
To ease airspace congestion during the government funding gap, the Federal Aviation Administration is restricting commercial rocket liftoffs from Monday.
After scrubbing the launch, the company announced late Sunday that, in coordination with the FAA, it was targeting a new try as soon as Wednesday within a time slot of afternoon hours Eastern Standard time.
Mission Objectives
When it eventually launches, the 98-meter tall launch vehicle will transport NASA’s Escapade twin spacecraft to the Red Planet, to study the Martian atmospheric past with the eventual hope of human exploration.
The mission will also act as a key test of its ability to perform reusable rocket landing, which would prove a technical breakthrough for the firm if successful.
Previous Flight
New Glenn’s inaugural flight in the start of the year was considered a success, as its cargo reached space and completed experiments.
But its main rocket section, which was meant to be recoverable, did not stick its landing on a platform in the Atlantic, and ended up destroyed during the return phase.
Recovery Efforts
For this new mission the launch provider will try once more to land the first stage.
Until now, only SpaceX has achieved that accomplishment.
Industry Competition
Rival firms of billionaires Bezos and Musk are engaged in a commercial space race that has grown more intense lately, as the space agency began accepting bids for its lunar exploration program, noting that one company was falling behind schedule.
Donald Trump’s second term has involved the government push the agency to speed up its timeline to launch astronauts to the Moon in competition against China.
More rivalry between SpaceX and Blue Origin could “give us more choices with regard to liftoff.”
“More launches means greater innovation in space,” an ex-agency official said. “It isn't a bad thing to have Blue Origin, even not in the lead.”
